SC’s Jim Clyburn receives highest civilian honor from President Joe Biden
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, whose 2020 endorsement is credited with helping Joe Biden win the presidency, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Clyburn, a Santee Democrat, was one of 19 people who received the award at a White House ceremony Friday afternoon.
“Jim has guided South Carolina and our country with a steady hand and honest heart over the last half century,” Biden said at the ceremony.
Clyburn, a former teacher who was elected to Congress in 1992, has served as assistant Democratic leader and majority whip to help move key pieces of legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his career he has served as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. He also served as an advisor to former Gov. John West and then served as South Carolina Human Affairs commissioner until 1992.
“I am immensely grateful to President Biden for this incredible honor and take seriously the responsibility it carries,” Clyburn said in statement. “While it serves as a recognition of one’s accomplishments, it is also an astute reminder of the challenges that lie ahead. It speaks to the duty each and every one of us has to further the founding fathers’ dream of a ‘more perfect union.’ I accept this award with deep humility and the promise to uphold this vision.”
In 2020, Biden had lost the first three nominating Democratic nominating contests heading into South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary. After Biden said during a debate he would nominate a Black woman for the U.S. Supreme Court, Clyburn endorsed the Biden campaign. Biden went on to win the South Carolina primary slingshotting him to the Democratic nomination and then the White House.
“I would not be standing here as president making these awards were it not for Jim,” Biden said. “And neither of us would be standing here without Emily Clyburn, a woman of enormous character, who we all miss. We’re a great nation, Jim, because we have good people like Jim and Emily Clyburn and our honorees today. All of them. My fellow Americans, Jim is the best.”
Among the others receiving the award Friday are former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist Clarence Jones, former Secretary of State John Kerry and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Medgar Evers, who fought against segregation and was murdered at the age of 37, received the award posthumously.
“These 19 Americans built teams, coalitions, movements, organizations and businesses that shaped America for the better,” the White House said in a news release. “They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields. They consistently demonstrated over their careers the power of community, hard work and service.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2024 at 5:05 AM.
